Huntsville Animal Services to waive adoption fees – cites ‘urgent need’

With the stray and surrendered animal population in Huntsville growing larger, Huntsville Animal Services announced this week announced they will waive all adoption fees for their shelter animals through the month of January.

HAS cited an “urgent need” to find homes for their rapidly growing number of shelter animals. Here’s how you can help:

‘Chock full of pets’

According to HAS, The kennels are “chock-full of pets of every shape and size” in need of a good home. Director Dr. Karen Sheppard said the shelter’s experienced a jump in intakes, including two recent litters of puppies.

“The need to rehome these animals is urgent because we’re out of room. The fact we’re so overcrowded illustrates why it’s so critical to spay and neuter pets to reduce the homeless pet population.”

HAS Director Dr. Karen Sheppard

The decision to waive fees coincides with Change a Pet’s Life Day on Jan. 24, designed to encourage adoptions. According to the ASPCA, shelters take in an estimated 6.3 million animals each year – about 3.1 million dogs and 3.2 million cats.

Each pet adopted from Huntsville Animal Services is vaccinated, spayed/neutered, microchipped and comes with a City license and free bag of pet food. Click here to see photos, ages and descriptions of available animals.

Adopting a Pet

Adopting may not be for everyone, which is why HAS offers options to help get pets out of the shelter temporarily. Sleepover and foster programs allow a host to learn more about an animal. That information, along with photos of the pet, can be key to finding a permanent home.

While studies cite mental and physical health benefits of pet ownership for humans, Sheppard said shelter pets benefit the most.

“There are so many misconceptions about shelter pets being unhealthy or having a bad temperament, but we have plenty of loving dogs and cats that will make great companions. Come see us, find an animal you like, spend some time with it and take it home. It’s really as simple as that.”

HAS Director Dr. Karen Sheppard

HAS is open Monday through Friday, 9AM to 5PM; Tuesday, 9AM. to 6PM; and Saturday, 9AM to 3PM.. Call 256-883-3782, visit HuntsvilleAL.gov/Animal or visit the HAS Facebook page to learn more.

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